160
FLIGHT
This Lockheed Electra SE-FGA " Sky Express " — photographed at
Prestwick on January 17 on its delivery flight to Malmo, Sweden, after
calling at Gander, Newfoundland — is one of two ex-Eastern Airlines
aircraft on lease to Falconair by International Aerodyne. Laid out with
121 seats it is styled attractively in bright yellow and white
AIR TRANSPO RT
THE MILAN ACCIDENT
CONTRARY to earlier reports, only two passengers were
injured as a result of the British United Airways One-Eleven
take-off accident at Milan on January 14. Both suffered
relatively minor injuries to their heels -possibly caused by
under-floor structure, forced upwards by impact with trees,
locally penetrating the cabin floor. Five other passengers,
suffering from shock, were detained in hospital overnight for
observation. At the time of going to press there was no
evidence that loss of power was a more likely cause of the
accident than. say. a sudden loss of lift, or an increase in drag.
It is understood that, following an audible bang after rotation,
the aircraft began to lose acceleration and climb. The One-
Eleven is well capable of maintaining a climb on one engine
and a double engine failure would indeed have been a rare
coincidence. The engines are now being examined by Rolls-
Royce and the Penny & Giles wire recorder has been returned
to Sperry for re-play.
MILWARD: "NO BOAC MERGER"
THE last thing the Edwards Committee was likely to recom
mend was a merger between the two British airline corporations,
said Sir Anthony Milward. chairman of BEA. in a recent
edition of BEA Newx. This idea, although much publicised,
was not part of the committee's terms of reference. "The thing
the committee was really set up to do." he said, "was to find
a way in which the two sides of aviation in this country, public
and private, could live together. This is the thing 1 really do
hope they will do. I also hope they find the means in the
coming year to stop this perpetual bickering between public
and private ownership which does not do either party, or the
country, any good."
Asked about competition from surface transport. Sir Anthony
said that he thought the Channel tunnel was now thoroughly
out of date, and was likely to prove an inefficient and
uneconomical way to the Continent British Rail services, he
thought, had improved, but it would be a long time, if ever,
before they diverted traffic from airlines on 400-mile routes
such as London-Glasgow. Trains running at 250 m.p.h. were,
he thought, still in the distant future.
As to BEA's own role. Sir Anthony said that although its
inclusive-tour business would be greatly developed, the corpora
tion would continue to concern itself mainly with scheduled
services. "I believe in STOL and VTOL aircraft on two
conditions." said Sir Anthony. "First, they have got to be
much cheaper, and secondly they have got to be much quieter."
At present noise levels, use of city-centre landing strips was
unacceptable.
"Since the death of British Eagle." said Sir Anthony, turning
to domestic-route competition. "I can't recall anybody saying
there has been any shortage of capacity of the London-
Glasgow route which Eagle was on. The whole of their traffic
has been absorbed mainly by BEA. as the biggest operator, and
by BUA out of Gatwick. The capacity was always there and
it is now being more fully utilised. This means that both our
selves and BUA stand a better chance of making profits on a
route like this. In future, the capacity on these routes must be
firmly regulated or we will finish up with low load factors and
with everybody losing money."
It was significant. Sir Anthony continued, that the new traffic
which, it had been predicted, would be generated by com
petition had not in fact materialised. The growth rate on the
domestic trunk routes had not increased, and had possibly
diminished. The situation might have been different, he
admitted, if BEA had been artificially restricting capacity in
order to increase profits, but this it had never done. "We
never had load factors in excess of an average of about
70 per cent."
BEA's tradition of buying British aircraft, he said, had been
excellent for the country and. up to now. good for BEA. But
in the future the matter turned on whether Britain built what
was commonly called an " 'airbus' (which I call simply a large
aircraft'). This is going to be decided by the Government
1 hope on advice from us. If Britain alone or in collaboration
builds an airbus, and it is right for us. we shall no doubt buy
it. If they don't, or it is not right, then inevitably our next
aircraft will be American, whether we like it or not."
This is Sir Anthony's last full year as chairman; asked what
he would most like to achieve in 1969. he said that it was
to put BEA in a fully profitable condition by March 1970.
"I am reasonably sure that this will be achieved."
AUA CHANGES POLITICAL?
CONCERN is felt in European airline circles that political
motives should apparently have brought about the recent
change in the management of Austrian Airlines, of which
the joint managing directors, Dr Lambert Konschegg and Mr
Engelbert Heidrich, were recently replaced (see Flight for
January 23. page 126). It is widely felt that the loss of Dr
Konschegg is a serious blow for the airline and for Austrian
civil aviation; as well as being a law graduate of Innsbruck,
he was for six years a captain with Swissair, and. in 1966.
president of IATA.
Under his management and that of Mr Heidrich the airline's
traffic and revenue rose by about three times in the five years
up to 1967. There has been a good deal of controversy in
Austrian political circles over the possible reorganisation of
AUA, which has recorded losses in recent years. The joint
managing directors, whose contracts had ended and were not
renewed, appear to have been the victims of the controversy.